Editing Battle (section)

== Factors ==
Battles are decided by various factors, the number and quality of combatants and equipment, the skill of [[commanders]] and terrain are among the most prominent. Weapons and armour can be decisive; on many occasions armies have achieved victory through more advanced weapons than those of their opponents. An extreme example was in the [[Battle of Omdurman]], in which a large army of Sudanese [[Ansar (Sudan)|Mahdists]] armed in a traditional manner were destroyed by an Anglo-Egyptian force equipped with [[Maxim machine gun]]s and artillery.

On some occasions, simple weapons employed in an unorthodox fashion have proven advantageous; [[Swiss pikemen]] gained many victories through their ability to transform a traditionally defensive weapon into an offensive one. [[Zulus]] in the early 19th century were victorious in battles against their rivals in part because they adopted a new kind of spear, the [[iklwa]]. Forces with inferior weapons have still emerged victorious at times, for example in the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]]. Disciplined troops are often of greater importance; at the [[Battle of Alesia]], the Romans were greatly outnumbered but won because of superior training.

Battles can also be determined by terrain. Capturing high ground has been the main tactic in innumerable battles. An army that holds the high ground forces the enemy to climb and thus wear themselves down. Areas of jungle and forest, with dense vegetation act as force-multipliers, of benefit to inferior armies. Terrain may have lost importance in modern warfare, due to the advent of aircraft, though the terrain is still vital for camouflage, especially for [[guerrilla warfare]].

Generals and commanders also play an important role, [[Hannibal]], [[Julius Caesar]], [[Khalid ibn Walid]], [[Subutai]] and [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon Bonaparte]] were all skilled generals and their armies were extremely successful at times. An army that can trust the commands of their leaders with conviction in its success invariably has a higher morale than an army that doubts its every move. The British in the naval [[Battle of Trafalgar]] owed its success to the reputation of Admiral [[Lord Nelson]].